Can a chin implant fail slightly over 5 mm in the future?

I have had a silicone chin implant for 6 years. It looks like it has lost perjection over time. There is also moderate pain I get on the left side. I had a x ray and ct scan about a year and a half ago and was told it looked fine. Is it possible to still have erosion and it not show up on a x ray or ct scan? Also if I wanted to replace it with a slightly larger one will it fail if it is over 5 mm?

Doctor Answers 3

Chin Implant Settling

December 3rd, 2013

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The loss of perceived chin projection over time could be a function of aesthetic accommodation, overlying soft tissue atrophy, or some implant settling into the bone. Many chin implants will settle into the bone a millimeter or two over time (there is no such thing as actual erosion) and in a small implant that may be enough to see a difference in projection. Any amount of implant settling into the bone should be detectable in a CT in the axial view. The chin implant can be replaced with a larger one for restoration of chin projection or the creation of more projection. The 5mm chin implant size you have mentioned has no correlation to a greater failure or increased implant settling into the bone.

Can a chin implant fail slightly over 5 mm in the future?

The CT scan would have demonstrated a loss. I think a larger chin implant may be reasonable in your case.

Find a board certified plastic surgeon who performs hundreds
of facial procedures and chin implants each year. Then look at the
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sense of who can deliver the results.

Chin implant change

December 5th, 2013

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First you need to understand that the silicone chin implant has not changed at all, the material is not biodegradable and what you put in stays for life just as it was at insertion. However, implants can cause slight erosion of the underlying bone with the implant settling into the bone slightly. I have never seen this to more that 1 to 2 mms. 5 mms would be unheard of. The tissue overlying the implant may have changed with loss of volumn and slight sagging so as to decrease projection a bit. If the projection is not what you want then have the implant removed and replaced with a larger one, easy to do. I do this in the office under simple local anesthesia in 30 minutes

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